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Tesco will remove 250 million carrier bags from its services by ditching the plastic bags from its home delivery scheme.

Instead delivery drivers will be ready to offer customers a helping hand, with the removal of carrier bags estimated to cut Tesco plastic use by 2000 tonnes.

The decision to use carrier bag-free deliveries follows 28 weeks of successful trials involving 33 stores.

Tesco quality director, Sarah Bradbury said:“We’re looking for ways to reduce the amount of plastic we use. We know it’s an important issue for customers, colleagues and our business and we know we have to do more.

'Removing carrier bags from our online shopping is one of the many ways we are making changes to help customers reduce their use of plastic. Right now, we’re reviewing all our packaging, including plastic, looking to remove where possible. Where it’s not right to remove we will reduce, help customers reuse and ensure all packaging can be recycled. Our scale means a simple, straightforward change can have such a big impact.”

By the end of the year Tesco will have removed the hardest to recycle materials from its own brand packaging, with 570 more products now using widely recyclable packaging.

The supermarket is aiming to implement a closed loop recycling system, with plastic packaging continually re-used without going to landfill.

Paula Chin, sustainable materials specialist at WWF UK, said: “Plastic pollution is the most visible example of the environmental crisis we are currently facing and we fully support Tesco’s move to reduce the amount of single use plastic going out to its customers.

“With 90% of the world’s sea birds having been found with fragments of plastic in their stomachs,we all need to do our bit to fight plastic pollution, by embracing reusable items and reducing the plastic that we use.”